Table Of Content50 Key Concepts in
Gender Studies
Jane Pilcher & Imelda Whelehan
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Fifty Key Concepts in
i
Gender Studies
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Recent volumes include:
Key Concepts in Social Research
Geoff Payne and Judy Payne
Key Concepts in Medical Sociology
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Key Concepts in Critical Social Theory
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The SAGE Key Concepts series provide students with accessible and
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Cross-referenced throughout, the format encourages critical evaluation
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the books are indispensable study aids and guides to comprehension.
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JANE PILCHER AND IMELDA WHELEHAN
Fifty Key Concepts in
iii
Gender Studies
SAGE Publications
London • Thousand Oaks • New Delhi
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© Jane Pilcher and Imelda Whelehan 2004
All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be
reproduced,stored in a retrieval system,transmitted or
utilized in any form or by any means,electronic,mechanical,
photocopying,recording or otherwise,without permission in
writing from the Publishers.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
ISBN0 7619 7035 5
ISBN 0 7619 7036 3
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contents
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction:Everywhere and Somewhere:
Gender Studies,Feminist Perspectives and
Interdisciplinarity ix
Imelda Whelehan and Jane Pilcher
Androcentrism 1
Backlash 3
Body 6
Citizenship 10
Class 13
Consciousness Raising 17
Cyborg 20
Dichotomy 24
Difference 27
Domestic Division of Labour 30
Double Standard 34
Equality 37
Essentialism 41 vv
the Family 43
Feminisms 48
First Wave Feminism 52
Gender 56
Gendered 61
Gender Order 59
Gender Segregation 64
Heterosexism 68
Identity Politics/the Politics of Identity 72
Ideology 75
Lesbian Continuum 79
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Masculinity/Masculinities 82
Men’s Movements/Men’s Studies 85
(the) Other 90
Patriarchy 93
Pornography 96
Post-colonial Theory 101
Post-feminism 105
Postmodernism 109
Post-structuralism 112
Power 115
Psychoanalytical Feminism 120
Public/Private 124
Queer Theory 128
Race/Ethnicity 132
Representation 135
Reproductive Technologies 140
Second Wave Feminism 144
Separatism 147
Sexual Contract 151
Sexuality 155
Socialisation 160
Standpoint 163
Stereotype 166
vi
Third Wave Feminism 169
Violence 172
Women’s Studies 176
Bibliography 181
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acknowledgements
Jane wishes to thanks past and present colleagues at the University of
Leicester for their help in the preparation of this book,especially Julia
O’Connell Davidson,Laura Brace and Nirmal Puwar.Imelda wishes to
thank David Sadler for his support during the preparation of this book.
Eddie May helpfully provided IT technical support and advice.Both Chris
Rojek and Kay Bridger at SAGE have been patient and supportive during
the writing process,and we thank them for that.
JP: To my daughter,Ana,this one is for you!
IW: For Miriam and Laurence,with love.
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gggg
introduction
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everywhere and somewhere: gender studies,
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women’s studies, feminist perspectives and
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interdisciplinarity
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Imelda Whelehan and Jane Pilcher
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What is gender studies and from where has it originated? We begin our dddd
introduction to this book by providing a brief account of the development iiii
of gender studies,before going on to make some general remarks about eeee
the key concepts themselves and how readers might make best use of
ssss
them.
The academic study of gender has a relatively short history. Its
emergence can be dated as recently as the late 1960s,and its development
triggered by second wave feminism.Along with developing a critique of
gender inequalities,in both personal relationships and in social positioning
(especially economically and politically),second wave feminism began to
draw attention to the ways in which academic disciplines and sets of
knowledge acted to exclude the experiences,interests and identities of
women.For example,prior to the 1970s,the social sciences in general, iixx
and sociology in particular,largely ignored gender.The ‘people’ it studied
were mainly men and the topics it focused on were aspects of the social
world especially significant for men, such as paid work and politics.
Women were almost invisible in pre-1970s’ gender-blind sociology,only
featuring in their traditional roles as wives and mothers within families.
Differences and inequalities between women and men at this time were
not recognised as an issue of sociological concern and were not seen as
problems to be addressed. In the context of second wave feminist
critiques,however,a number of disciplines across the social sciences,the
arts and humanities began to pay increasing attention to gender.Thus,in
sociology during the 1970s,differences and inequalities between women
and men came to be regarded, especially by women sociologists, as
problems to be examined and explained.Initially,studies were focused on
‘filling in the gaps’ in knowledge about women,gaps left by the prior male
introduction
